The British government had finalised plans to to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda before a court ruling temporarily stopped the process.
The UN Human Rights Agency has argued that the action initiated by the British government under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is incompatible with the country’s obligations.
Just resigned Home Secretary Priti Patel had stated that the plan was to stop and discourage illegal migrants from crossing the channels.
The UN Human Rights Agency told the court on Tuesday that Rwanda “lacks irreducible minimum components of an accessible, reliable, fair and efficient asylum system”.
Laura Dubinsky QC, for UNHCR, said “There are serious defects in the Rwandan refugee status determination system.”
She added that Rwanda has no realistic prospects of improvement and that the UK’s attempt was burden-shifting to a country which lacks the capacity to offer the hope the migrants need.
“UNHCR regrets, particularly in relation to one of the founding states of the Refugee Convention, that it is necessary for it to warn that the UK-Rwanda Arrangement is incompatible with UK’s fundamental obligations under the Refugee Convention.”
